Hepatic steatosis, also sometimes referred to as fatty liver disease, is a condition generally characterized by an abnormal retention of lipids in cells of the liver. Hepatic steatosis affects millions of people worldwide. For example, the prevalence of fatty liver disease has been estimated to range from 10-24% in various countries around the globe. Fatty liver disease can have various causes. For example, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) generally refers to a spectrum of hepatic lipid disorders characterized by hepatic steatosis with no known secondary cause. NAFLD can be subcategorized into (a) non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL), defined as the presence of steatosis in the absence of histological evidence of hepatocellular injury, and (b) non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), hepatic steatosis accompanied by hepatocyte injury and inflammation; NASH may occur with or without fibrosis, but may progress to fibrosis and cirrhosis. NAFLD is generally associated with energy metabolism pathologies, including obesity, dyslipidemia, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. The prevalence of NAFLD is high. Prevalence in the general population is estimated at 20%, with prevalence of NASH estimated to be 3-5%. There is an estimated ˜70% prevalence of NAFLD among patients with obesity or diabetes, and an estimated prevalence of ˜50% prevalence of NAFLD among patients with dyslipidemias. However, there are presently no approved pharmaceuticals for the treatment of NAFLD/NASH.
Sirtuins are highly conserved protein deacetylases and/or ADP-ribosyltransferases that have been shown to extend lifespan in lower model organisms, such as yeast, C. elegans, and drosophila. In mammals, sirtuins have been shown to act as metabolic sensors, responding to environmental signals to coordinate the activity of genes that regulate multiple energy homeostasis pathways. For example, studies have shown that sirtuin activation mimics the effects of caloric restriction, an intervention demonstrated to significantly extend lifespan, and activates genes that improve glucose homeostasis and the conversion of fat to energy by fatty acid oxidation.
The sirtuin pathway may be defined as any pathway incorporating or converging upon pathways mediated by phosphodiesterases (PDEs). PDEs are enzymes that interact with cyclic adenosine monophosphates (cAMPs) and cyclic guanosine monophosphates (cGMPs). The PDE family of enzymes comprises multiple subclasses, including PDE 1-11 in humans. Inhibitors of these phosphodiesterases can prevent the inactivation of cAMPs and cGMPs, and can have a variety of different physiological effects. The PDE inhibitors can be selective, by preferentially inhibiting one PDE subclass as compared to another subclass, or non-selective, which have a substantially lower degree of selectivity for individual PDE subclasses. Sildenafil is an example of a selective PDE inhibitor that has shown selective inhibition of PDE 5. Sildenafil is a pharmaceutically active agent that has been used to treat pulmonary hypertension, erectile dysfunction, and altitude sickness.